President Sirleaf leads historic Ground breaking for CLSG Project

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June 2, 2017, ABIDJAN, CI – Her Excellency President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf along with her counterparts from Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Guinea, will formally break ground for the CLSG interconnection project, slated for Sunday, June 4, 2017, on the sideline of the high-level ECOWAS Heads of State summit in Liberia, on Sunday, June 4, 2017.

His Excellencies Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Ernest Bai Koroma, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone and Alpha Condé, President of the Republic of Guinea will join President Johnson Sirleaf to conduct the historic ceremony in Liberia. The event will be graced by an array of dignitaries including donors of the CLSG project and other stakeholders.

The exciting ground-breaking event will kickstart physical construction activities of the 1,303-km transmission line and substations in the four Mano River Union (MRU) countries that constitute the CLSG (Cote d’Ivoire into Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea).

During a courtesy visit with President Johnson Sirleaf on Thursday, April 6, 2017, the General Manager of TRANSCO CLSG, Mohammed M. Sherif made a formal request for the Liberian leader to conduct the ground-breaking ceremony along with her colleagues, seizing the opportunity of their assembly in Liberia for the summit. He also provided key progress update on the CLSG Project implementation and other forward-looking activities.

The General Manager assures that the mandate of TRANSCO CLSG will be fulfilled. According to him, there will be a sequential commissioning of the project lots, with the final commissioning expected by December 2019.

Mr. Sherif said the construction of a 1,303-km-long double circuit high voltage (225 kV) line will interconnect the national networks of all four Mano River Union (MRU) countries. He maintains the CLSG project is aimed at facilitating sustainable energy trade in the MRU through the provision of reliable electric power at competitive cost for millions of residents of the project impact area including communities, schools, health centers, commercial & industrial business, etc.

The CLSG project is the largest power line project in the MRU for the first time. The project is being financed by four donors including the World Bank, African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and KfW, and the governments of Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

An international Treaty was signed in 2014 by the Heads of State of Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to establish a Special Purpose Company called ‘TRANSCO CLSG’ which stands for Transmission Company Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinée.